... A large number of cDNAs coding for killer cell inhibitory receptors (KIR) and immunoglobulin-like transcripts (ILT) have already been described, and some of the respective genes are known to map in 19q13.4. To understand the genetic relationships of these transcripts, some of which may be alleles from polymorphic loci, it is necessary to determine the genomic organization of the region. To do so, ...

... This paper examines the effect of sustainability performance of European corporations on their stock performance, measured as the average monthly stock return from 1996 to 2001. The econometric analysis is based on common empirical asset pricing models, particularly on the multifactor model according to Fama and French (1993, Journal of Financial Economics, 33:3-56). The consideration of sustainab ...

... Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute and chronic effects of OpunDia™ (Opuntia ficus-indica) in obese pre-diabetic men and women. Materials and methods: This double-blind placebo controlled study included participants (age range of 20-50 years) randomly assigned to one of the two groups and given a 16-week supply of either the 200mg OpunDia™ (n =15), or placebo (n =14). ...

... We investigated sperm storage, sperm transfer from the oviduct to the seminal receptacle, and formation of the cuticular genitalia in female Armadillidium vulgare using light and electron microscopy. Apolysis of the genitalia within the oviduct forms a circum-genital lumen. During insemination this space is filled with immobile spermatozoa. Sperm transfer into the seminal receptacle takes place be ...

... Inflammatory processes are accompanied by the post-translational modification of certain arginine residues to yield citrulline, and a pH decrease in the affected tissue, which might influence the protonation of histidine residues within proteins. We employed isotope-edited IR spectroscopy to investigate whether conformational features of two human major histocompatibility antigen class I subtypes, ...

... In humans, the fraction of X-linked genes with higher expression in females has been estimated to be 5% from microarray studies, a proportion lower than the 25% of genes thought to escape X inactivation. We analyzed 715 X-linked transcripts in circulating monocytes from 1,467 subjects and found an excess of female-biased transcripts on the X compared to autosomes (9.4% vs 5.5%, p<2×10⁻⁵). Among th ...

... This paper examines the role of prior knowledge in offsetting CO₂ emissions from fuel consumption in vehicle use. The main result of our econometric analysis on the basis of unique representative data from drivers’ license holders in the USA and Germany refers to the strong discrepancy between the stated and revealed knowledge of CO₂ offsetting. The revealed knowledge – measured by the correct est ...

... Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins are expressed on the cell surface where they present foreign and self-peptides to effector cells of the immune system. While an understanding of the structural prerequisites for antigen presentation has already been achieved, insight into subtype- or peptide-dependent dynamical characteristics of a peptide–MHC antigen is so far largely obscur ...

... Light and electron microscopic studies that we have published in the past have reported many aspects of the reproductive process in Armadillidium vulgare with particular emphasis on the reconstruction of female genitalia. Together this body of work provides an almost complete, albeit fragmented picture of these processes and include many data on sperm storage and sperm translocation. Females of A. ...

... On the basis of a unique firm-level dataset from the German manufacturing sector, this paper empirically examines the determinants of environmental and non-environmental product and process innovations. The micro-econometric analysis with multivariate probit models points to an extremely high relevance of R&D activities for all technological innovation types, as well as to the relevance of a few m ...

... This paper examines the extent and the determinants of global climate change beliefs. In contrast to former studies for the U.S. and other western countries, we focus on China due to its crucial role in international climate policy in conjunction with its vulnerability to global warming. The empirical analysis is based on unique data from a survey among more than 1000 adults in five Chinese cities ...

... Relying on a recent survey of more than 3400 participants from China, Germany, and the US, this article empirically analyses citizens' perceptions of key guiding principles for sharing mitigation costs across countries, justification of climate policy and trust in climate policy. Our findings suggest that the ranking of the main principles for burden-sharing is identical in China, Germany, and the ...

... BACKGROUND: The importance of the adrenal gland in regard to lactation and reproduction in cattle has been recognized early. Caused by interest in animal welfare and the impact of stress on economically important traits in farm animals the adrenal gland and its function within the stress response is of increasing interest. However, the molecular mechanisms and pathways involved in stress-related e ...

... Terrestrial isopods moult first the posterior and then the anterior half of the body, allowing for storage and recycling of CaCO3. We used synchrotron-radiation microtomography to estimate mineral content within skeletal segments in sequential moulting stages of Porcellio scaber. The results suggest that all examined cuticular segments contribute to storage and recycling, however, to varying exten ...

... This paper studies the voluntary provision of public goods that is partially driven by a desire to offset for individual polluting activities. We first extend existing theory and show that offsets allow a reduction in effective environmental pollution levels while not necessarily extending the consumption of a polluting good. We further discuss the impact of an increased environmental preference o ...

... Generalized estimating equations (GEE) proposed by Liang and Zeger (1986) yield a consistent estimator for the regression parameter without correctly specifying the correlation structure of the repeatedly measured outcomes. It is well known that the efficiency of regression coefficient estimator increases with correctly specified working correlation and thus unstructured correlation could be a goo ...

... Effects of hypoxia on the osmorespiratory functions of the posterior gills of the shore crab Carcinus maenas acclimated to 12ppt seawater (DSW) were studied. Short-circuit current (Isc) across the hemilamella (one epithelium layer supported by cuticle) was substantially reduced under exposure to 1.6, 2.0, or 2.5mg O2/L hypoxic saline (both sides of epithelium) and fully recovered after reoxygenati ...

... Coccolithophores belong to the most abundant calcium carbonate mineralizing organisms. Coccolithophore biomineralization is a complex and highly regulated process, resulting in a product that strongly differs in its intricate morphology from the abiogenically produced mineral equivalent. Moreover, unlike extracellularly formed biological carbonate hard tissues, coccolith calcite is neither a hybri ...

... From a theoretical perspective, the effect of international climate policy on individual willingness to take up climate protection efforts is ambiguous. An effective international climate policy may motivate individuals to increase their voluntary efforts to mitigate global warming (crowding-in). However, if individuals perceive international climate policy to be effective, they may decide to scal ...

... Multiple sclerosis is a complex neurological disease, with ∼20% of risk heritability attributable to common genetic variants, including >230 identified by genome-wide association studies. Multiple strands of evidence suggest that much of the remaining heritability is also due to additive effects of common variants rather than epistasis between these variants or mutations exclusive to individual fa ...

... This paper empirically examines the individual support of the German energy transition in total and especially of six single energy policy measures, which are components of the energy transition. Our micro-econometric analysis with binary and ordered probit models on the basis of data from a broad survey of citizens reveals the important role of several attitudinal factors. With respect to our ind ...